Let’s Harvest Grapes Together! A Whimsical Tour of My Cottage Grape Vines

It’s a cozy cottage weekend-Welcome to my cottage!  I would like to invite you to come on back to the “Secret Garden” with me to harvest some grapes!  I must warn you there is a naughty little fairy that has caused some mischief with the grapes this year.  She is quite hard to spot, so I don’t know if we will see her today, but I can assure you she has been here.  There is evidence, which we will discuss later.  But first-a tour of the grape vines that came with our new cottage garden!

We are at the left side of the backyard fence now.  This is where the wild grapes grow!  I am sure they are wild grapes, because they are small (the size of a blueberry)-half the size or less of the other grapes we have.  They have slip skins (meaning that they easily pop out of the skin when squeezed) and act like a concord grape, but are not the size of a concord.  I was told by a local lady that they are indeed wild grapes:

They are growing right up in to the tall pine tree!  I can’t reach them all, did you bring your ladder? 🙂

I see another cluster hiding in here! :

Close enough to pick now.  Do you have your bucket?

Thank you for helping me pick those.  I am so glad you brought a ladder!  Let’s go take a look at the back fence now.  This is where the big concord grapes are.  MMMMM.  Think of all the things we can do with concord grapes.  Do you like Welch’s grape juice?  What about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made with concord grape jam?

We are approaching the concord grapes now.  This is what the vines look like fully grown along the back fence.  They provide excellent privacy throughout Summer until Winter, so I would highly recommend growing them anywhere you want an edible privacy “hedge”.  Don’t mind the weeds.  I haven’t had enough time to get this large cottage style yard in tip top shape yet.  It’s a bit wild and overgrown in places :).  There are all sorts of little goodies growing under the grape vines as well.  The gooseberry bush is under there, and so is the rhubarb.

Here we go!  Can you smell their grape-y perfume?

Well that was fun!  I am so glad you stopped by to help me harvest the grapes this year.  It was such a cool, crisp fall feeling kind of day.  Didn’t the air feel lovely for picking?  I do like the weather and the smells of Autumn.

Sadly , we were mostly only able to harvest the wild grapes this year.  Did you see that naughty little fairy?!  When we turned our backs , she took off with all the large concord grapes!  I thought I heard a wee little giggle now that I think of it.  Did you?  I wonder what that little fairy is going to do with them.  Being that fairies are merry little creatures, I assume they will probably make wine and jam and then have a little party!  I can see them now, laughing as they clink their fairy goblets filled with wine, and eating crumpets with jam.  Next year we will have to be more clever, as to get the grapes before they do!

Well at least we have the wild grapes that we picked today.  Will you come back for a visit next weekend and help me make wild grape jam?  I will have some homemade bread ready for you so we can enjoy the fruits of our labor afterward.

Until we meet again at my cozy cottage,

Rebekah

(true story..someone must have taken the Concords, as when I went to pick those the next day, almost all of them were gone..and that vine was loaded!  🙁 I didn’t see remnants on the ground like I have when the squirrels or birds get them.  Maybe fairies DO exist!)

Shared at Kathe with an E

Tweet